what happened?
by lovelymaura
Summary: AU where Regina, Emma and Mary Margaret were childhood best friends until Emma moved away. No magic, no Henry.
1. Chapter 1

Regina heard a knock at her front door and rolled her eyes. Whoever it was, she probably didn't want to see them. She walked slowly to her door before she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'm coming!" She shouted, rather annoyed. She opened the door and could barely breathe upon seeing who was standing there.

"Emma?"

Emma smiled shyly and gave pathetic little wave. "Hey, Regina."

Regina blinked. She never thought that she would see Emma Swan again. "Have you moved back to Storybrooke?"

Emma smiled and nodded. "Can I come in?"

Regina stepped aside to allow room for Emma to walk in. She followed Emma to her dining room table.

"Same house, huh?" Emma smirked.

Regina rolled her eyes. "It would appear so."

"You just always said you wanted to get out of here. See the world, you know? What happened?"

Regina tensed. A lot of things happened. Things she didn't want to relive. Things she didn't want to talk about to Emma Swan of all people.

"I changed my mind." Regina said, barely above a whisper.

* * *

_Regina was standing in her backyard with Emma and Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret was yammering on and on about a boy she likes and Regina stopped listening ten minutes ago and could only think about Daniel. Her Daniel. He should be there. He would be there too if her mother wasn't so strict on the type of people Regina dates._

_What's so wrong with Daniel, anyway? So he doesn't have money. Big fucking deal. Regina had enough. She didn't even care if the person she dated was rich or not. If she loved them and they loved her, that's all that mattered. And she loved Daniel. He was everything to her. But she had to keep him a secret from her mother. He said he understood but Regina knew he thought she was ashamed of being with him. She wasn't, not even in the slightest. She was just scared of her mother._

_"What are you thinking about?" Emma asked, snapping Regina back into reality._

_"Daniel." Mary Margaret sing-songed._

_"Oh, shut up, Mary Margaret." Regina scoffed. Emma smirked and laughed at Mary Margaret's scared expression._

_"Were you thinking about him?" Emma asked shyly._

_Regina huffed. "Well, if you must know, yes I was. It would seem that I almost always am. It's quite terrifying, really."_

_Emma's eyebrows furrowed. "Terrifying?"_

_Regina ignored her. She was in no mood to express her fear._

_"I still think you should tell your mother." Mary Margaret said, barely audible._

_Regina's eyes almost bulged out of her head. "Are you out of your mind, Mary Margaret? Do you have any idea of what that would do?" Regina's voice raised significantly. "I will never in a million years tell my mother about my relationship with Daniel! Do I make myself clear?"_

_Mary Margaret shrunk down. "Yes, Regina, you're clear. I'm sorry I suggested such a thing."_

_Emma watched as Mary Margaret surrendered so easily to Regina. She raised a hand up and lightly touched Regina's arm. Regina looked back at her and smiled._

* * *

Emma smiled at Regina. "What are you thinking about?"

Regina shrugged. "You, me, and Mary Margaret sitting in my backyard."

Emma laughed. "Oh, Mary Margaret. Where is she, by the way? I looked her up and couldn't find her."

Regina rolled her eyes. "She married the insufferable David Nolan. I can show you where they live."

Emma's eyes widened. "Mary Margaret and David Nolan? I knew she was always so in love with him but I didn't think he would like her back at all."

Regina smiled slightly. "Yes, well, there were circumstances surrounding the event that made it easier for them to start a relationship. I actually set them up on a date, yet it seems that Mary Margaret has forgotten that and refuses to thank me."

Emma laughed lightly. "Why hasn't she thanked you?"

"I would say that our relationship has been pretty rocky since you left. The set up was mostly for David because his ex wife, Kathryn Nolan who is a very good friend of mine, asked me to set him up. I knew Mary Margaret was in love with him in high school so I asked her." Regina sighed. "And there has been no thank you."

"Do they have children?" Emma asked.

Regina tensed up. She did not like speaking about the child that Mary Margaret had or what she had chosen to name it. Mary Margaret had thought it would be a nice idea but it was just a painful reminder to Regina about how unfortunate her life was.

"They have son. His name is Daniel."

Emma's eyebrows shot up. "Daniel?"

Regina nodded slightly. "Yes, she made the stupid decision to name her son after an old lover of mine."

Emma leaned forward. "So you're not still with him?"

Regina thought about telling Emma exactly what their "innocent" little best friend did after she left. She thought about saying why she wasn't with Daniel anymore. Instead, she just shook her head.

"No, things ended between us not long after you left."

Emma sighed. "I wished I never left."

Regina laughed lightly. "No you don't, Emma. For your whole life, you've wanted to leave Storybrooke. We both did, you're just the one that did it. I wish I could have gone with you."

"You could have. You just had more people to stay for than I did."

Regina sighed. Emma had always thought that no one loved her, wanted her. "I had people, yes. But so did you."

Emma shook her head. "I don't know about that."

* * *

_Mary Margaret came running into Regina's bedroom. "Regina!"_

_Regina shot up from her bed. "What is it, Mary Margaret?"_

_"Emma's gone. She just left town." Mary Margaret stopped to catch her breath. "No note or anything. No one knows where she could have gone."_

_Regina could barely breathe. She felt moisture in her eyes. "Emma's...gone?"_

_Mary Margaret nodded sadly. Regina fell back onto her bed and cried lightly. Mary Margaret sat next to her and rubbed her back. "I don't know why she would leave." Mary Margaret murmured. _

_"I don't know either." Regina said between sniffles._

* * *

Regina and Emma walked up to Mary Margaret and David's door. Regina hesitated before knocking on the door. She turned to Emma and smiled.

"Daniel is actually very precious. He's about three years old and calls me Auntie Gina. And no, that is not permission for you to call me Gina again. That was horrible."

Emma smirked just as the door was opened. Mary Margaret stood with her mouth hanging open, staring at Emma. "Emma?"

"Hi."

Mary Margaret flew forward and hugged Emma so forcefully that she hit the wall behind her. "Oof."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Oh for goodness sake, Mary Margaret. Let her breathe."

Mary Margaret backed away from Emma and smiled. "Sorry. It's just so good to see you. Regina and I, we were so worried when you left. It's been so long, I just..." She shook her head and looked at Emma. "I really missed you, Emma."

"I missed you guys, too." Emma smiled at her two best friends. She sighed at how much the two seemed to hate each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**talk of violence and blood, not so vivid but still there. all in italics during the flashbacks.**

* * *

"What happened between you and Mary Margaret?" Emma asked. She was sitting across from Regina in a booth at Granny's. She sipped her coffee and looked at Regina skeptically.

Regina froze. She looked down at her food and sighed. "Let's just say that Mary Margaret was responsible for my relationship with Daniel ending."

Emma looked shocked. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Regina shook her head. "It's in the past."

"But you haven't forgiven her."

It wasn't a question, Regina knew, but she shook her head anyway. She hadn't even told Emma the whole story and she knew Regina wouldn't forgive Mary Margaret yet. There was no way she could get over a betrayal like that.

"I trusted her, Emma. Now I know not to do that anymore. With anyone."

Emma looked up at Regina. "You can trust me. You can always trust me."

Regina sighed sadly. "I couldn't trust you to stay."

A tear fell down Emma's cheek. She shook her head lightly. "I am so sorry, Regina. I should have stayed. If I had known what was going to happen, I would've stayed. You needed me, and I wasn't here. I'm so sorry."

Regina smiled slightly. "Stop apologizing, Emma."

"Sorry-I mean, sor-okay I'll stop." Emma sighed.

Regina looked down. She should tell Emma what happened. She just didn't think that Granny's Diner was the right place for the conversation. She looked up at Emma's soft eyes. She smiled.

"Someday, I'll tell you the full story. Not right now, though." Regina fidgeted in her seat.

Emma smiled. "I'd like that. I wanna help you get better."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Better? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not anything bad, Regina!" Emma held up her hands. "I just mean that something bad obviously happened to you while I was gone. And I wanna be the one to make you feel better. I wanna help."

Regina smiled brightly. "Thank you, Emma. Maybe you can come to my house later and we can talk."

Emma nodded. "That sounds good. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll be at my place. Thanks for lunch." Emma leaned down and kissed Regina's cheek like she used to. She smiled and walked out the door.

* * *

_Regina walked into the woods behind her house where her and Daniel usually meet. She saw him standing by a tree and smiled brightly._

_"Daniel." He turned and smiled at her. He visibly relaxed when she touched his forearm. He kissed her forehead, his usual greeting._

_"How are you, Regina?" He wrapped his arms around her._

_Regina leaned into him. "I'm good, really good." It was the truth, which shocked Regina. She was actually happy, much to do with Daniel. She loved him more than anything. _

_"What is this?" Regina's mother shouted from behind her. Regina whirled around and saw Mary Margaret behind her mother._

_"You!" She walked toward her until Daniel held her back._

_"You are seeing this boy?" Regina's mother asked._

_"Yes, Mother. I love him." Regina said, leaning into Daniel's side. He sighed._

_"Love? Love is weakness, Regina." Her mother walked toward Daniel. Regina instinctively stood in front of him._

_"He doesn't make me weak, Mother. He makes me stronger."_

_Her mother rolled her eyes. "I cannot let this happen, Regina. Mother's know best." _

_Regina looked past her mother to Mary Margaret. "How dare you tell her? What gave you the right? I trusted you, Mary Margaret!"_

_Mary Margaret looked down. "I'm sorry, Regina. I thought it would help."_

_Regina rolled her eyes. "Well, you thought wrong. Next time, listen to me!"_

_Daniel stepped out from behind Regina and walked toward her mother._

_"Mrs. Mills, I would never hurt Regina. You have nothing to worry about."_

_Regina's mother laughed bitterly. "I'm not worried about you, Daniel. But you should be worried about me." She stepped forward and, with one swift motion, stabbed Daniel in the chest. _

_"No!" Regina caught Daniel as he fell. "Mother!" She looked up at her mother accusingly. She felt tears streaming down her face as she saw Daniel struggling to breathe. She pressed against the stab wound and kissed Daniel's forehead. Blood pooled through her fingers. Daniel coughed and blood splattered out of his mouth. All Regina could see was Daniel's blood. Her sight was blurred from her tears and she couldn't breathe. _

_"I'm so sorry, Daniel. This is my fault, it's all my fault." She sobbed into Daniel's shoulder. Daniel was dying and Regina had no control over the situation. She wanted to run and hide so she could never cause harm to anybody else. This was all her fault, just like everything always is. _

_"Regina..." Daniel struggled to speak. "I love...you."_

_"I love you, too Daniel." Regina said slowly. She cried even harder when Daniel's eyes closed. "No!" She shouted. Her voice echoed in the woods. "No, no, no, no, no." She murmured into Daniel's chest and sobbed._

_"What have you done?" Mary Margaret yelled at Cora._

_Cora cackled and Regina laid down next to Daniel._

_"Help!" Mary Margaret yelled as she ran out of the woods. _

_"Now you know what I mean when I say love is weakness, dear. It never turns out the way we want it to."_

* * *

When Regina finished telling the story to Emma, she looked up at her. She tried to read Emma's expression. Emma's eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth was hanging open. She looked very frustrated.

Emma closed her eyes. "Is your mother in jail?"

Regina nodded. "Yes, Mary Margaret called the police and that was taken care of."

Emma looked at her. She looked angry. "Mary Margaret should've just kept her fucking mouth shut."

Regina chuckled lightly. "Yes, yes she should have."

Emma shook her head. "I always knew Mary Margaret was adamant about you telling your mother about Daniel. I just didn't think _she'd_ tell her about him. Especially without asking you first."

Regina sighed. "She claims that she did it 'for my own good'. She thought my mother would accept him and support it. She should have listened to me. She thought she knew my own mother better than I did." Regina looked down. "That moment taught me never to trust anyone again."

Emma frowned. "Regina," She started. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. You can trust me. I know that that can be hard to believe, especially since I left, but you're my best friend. I wish I had stayed, for you."

Regina smiled. She saw the way Emma's eyes lit up when they looked at her. Regina's heart yearned for Emma in the way it hadn't in a long while. "Emma,"

There was a knock at Regina's door, stopping Regina from making her confession. Regina sighed and got up and Emma followed. Mary Margaret was standing there, smiling.

"Mary Margaret." Emma said, suddenly very hostile.

"Hi guys. I brought cookies!" Mary Margaret held out a box full of various types of cookies.

Regina faked a smile and gestured for her to come in before Emma stopped her. "We don't want anything from you."

Mary Margaret's eyebrows furrowed. "W-what? Emma, what do you mean?"

Regina looked at Emma. Was Emma really going to do this? Was she really going to defend Regina? Regina had never felt anyone defend her before. She loved that Emma would do that, that she even thought to do that.

"You keep acting like nothing happened between you and Regina. Well something did, Mary Margaret. And to my knowledge, you haven't apologized. You even named your child after Daniel. What could possibly make you think that that was a good idea?" Emma was shouting and Regina was shocked and Mary Margaret looked close to crying.

"I have apologized time and time again in my head but I can't seem to get the words out whenever I'm around Regina. I feel so sorry for what I did, I really do. That's why I named my son Daniel. It was a fresh start."

"A _fresh start_?" Emma and Regina asked at the same time.

Mary Margaret nodded subtly. "I thought we could start over and maybe become friends again."

Regina shook her head. "You still haven't apologized, Mary Margaret."

"I'm sorry, Regina. For Daniel. Every night I wish that I could go back to that day and change it. I wish I had never told your mother and I wish that I wasn't that stupid. It haunts me. Every time I see how much you've grown to hate me, it haunts me." Mary Margaret is shaking with her sobs and Emma isn't even halfway sorry that she's made her cry.

Regina sighed. "I suppose I can work on forgiving you."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Thank you, Regina." She handed her the box of cookies and left.

Emma looked at Regina and smiled. "Well, there you go. She's sorry. Aren't you glad I did that?"

Regina is so overwhelmed with love for Emma that she doesn't even realize before it's too late that she's leaning toward her. Her eyes open wide as her lips press against Emma's with such force like all she's ever wanted to do was kiss her.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma's eyes shot open as Regina's lips pressed against hers. She relaxed into the kiss then tensed up soon after. She pulled back, her eyes meeting Regina's.

"Regina," she stopped to catch her breath. "Regina, what just happened? What are we doing?"

Regina sighed. She didn't know why she did that. Her mind was racing and she couldn't get the words out and Emma was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes. She contemplated running but, where would she go? This was her house, after all.

"Oh God, Emma." She put her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I-I don't know why I did that, Emma."

Emma studied Regina's face and sighed. "Regina," she stepped back even further from Regina. "I have loved you since I was 14. Pretty much since I figured out what love was. If anyone asked me who I thought the love of my life was, the answer would be you. But I don't want to be this thing you do because you're upset. I want to be more than just that to you. I want you to love me."

Regina closed her eyes and shook her head. "Emma, I loved you. So much. I tried to ignore it for so long. I used Daniel to try to get over you and it worked. It actually worked. Then you left and I thought maybe I did something and I," she sighed. "I stopped caring. About anything. I just wanted you to come back. Then Daniel died and I forgot about loving you for a while, honestly. Then you came back and you brought back all these feelings with you."

Regina opened her eyes and stepped toward Emma. "I'm scared, Emma. Of you, of myself, of Mary Margaret, of everything. I want it all to stop but somehow in between all the shit I've been through I still love you. I love you with all of my heart and I don't even remember at all how it happened."

Emma smiled. "You really love me?"

Regina nodded. "I really do."

"God Regina, I love you so much it's not even funny." Emma flew forward and kissed Regina again. She caressed Regina's cheek and smiled against her lips.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." Emma said in between kisses.

Regina could feel tears streaming down her cheeks because this moment was all she ever wanted. Regina loving Emma and having her love Regina back and kissing her with all she had. She knew in that moment that no one could ever love someone more than she loved Emma.

* * *

Mary Margaret sat with David in a booth at Granny's. Regina had asked her to meet her there. Mary Margaret kept fidgeting in her seat.

"Stop worrying, Mary Margaret. She already said she would work on forgiving you. It's okay now." David rubbed his wife's back and smiled.

"It's not okay yet, David. I think Emma hates me for what I did to Regina."

David's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would Emma hate you for something you did to Regina? That doesn't make sense."

Mary Margaret sighed. "It makes a lot of sense. We were best friends, David. And Emma...well, Emma fell in love with Regina. She told me the same day that Regina told us that she was dating Daniel. It was heartbreaking. Since then, Emma's stood up for Regina no matter what. So yes, David, it makes perfect sense."

David sat back in his seat. "Do you think Regina knows?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. She looked down at her hands. "Emma told me that she would never tell Regina how she felt. She said their friendship was too much to risk."

Suddenly, the bell at the door jingled and Regina walked in. She smiled slightly at Mary Margaret and sat down across them.

"Hello Mary Margaret, David." Regina nodded at them.

"Hi, Regina." David said.

"Do you have something in particular you wanted to talk about with me?" Mary Margaret asked nervously.

Regina smiled brightly. "I kissed Emma."

Mary Margaret's eyes widened. "You kissed...Emma?"

Regina nodded. "Right after you left last night it seems that I lost my impulse control. I've been holding that back for so long, you'd think I'd need more than Emma defending me to make me snap."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Emma's been wanting to kiss you since we were teenagers."

Regina laughed. "I know, she told me. Almost as long as you've been wanting to kiss this one." Regina pointed at David.

David chuckled. "I heard that there were weekly meetings about me."

Regina rolled her eyes. "In my backyard. Although, I never paid attention through the whole thing. I would find myself thinking about Emma and then about Daniel."

Mary Margaret tensed when she said Daniel's name. "I'm still so sorry, Regina."

Regina held up a hand to silence Mary Margaret. "Stop. This," Regina gestured to all three of them. "what we're doing here, it's good. It's enough for now."

It feels so right being back with Mary Margaret. Regina hadn't realized how much she truly missed spending time with the other woman. It's been so long since she's allowed herself to look past their differences and see the girl she used to be best friends with and who she loved so dearly.

"I really missed you." Mary Margaret said quietly.

"I've been here the whole time." Regina said, confused.

"I know you've been there, you just haven't been _my _Regina. We never talked, at least not civilly." Mary Margaret smiled.

Regina saw how David looked in awe of how his wife spoke to Regina. She supposed he didn't think she deserved being missed. Regina sure knows how to hold to a grudge.

"I missed you, too. More than you know." Regina whispered. "I really needed a friend this whole time and I never got one."

David smiled. "Now you have three friends. Me, Mary Margaret, and Emma."

Mary Margaret perked up. "Speaking of Emma, what are you guys going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you going to date her or what?"

Regina's eyebrows furrowed. She hadn't even thought of that.

"I suppose if that's what Emma wants, then yes."

"Is it what you want?" David asked.

Regina smiled brightly. "It is, yes."

* * *

_Regina was sitting at the counter at Granny's, sipping her coffee. Mary Margaret saw her walked up to her slowly. _

_"Regina," Mary Margaret said._

_Regina turned to look and her and sighed. She was holding her newborn baby boy. Regina was not interested in seeing any child that came from David Nolan and Mary Margaret. She rolled her eyes. _

_"Is this the baby Nolan?" Regina asked, uninterested._

_"Yes, his name is Daniel." Mary Margaret told her slowly._

_Regina frowned as images and flashbacks raced through her mind. Images of her and Daniel hugging, kissing, smiling. Images of the woods where they would meet. Images of Daniel's lifeless body._

_"You named him after Daniel?" Regina asked, suddenly feeling very small._

_Mary Margaret nodded, smiling. Smiling as if it wasn't the worst idea in the world to name your child after your ex best friend's dead boyfriend. Smiling as if this moment hadn't brought back memories that Regina had tried so hard to forget. Smiling as if she wasn't breaking Regina all over again._

_A tear slid down Regina's cheek. "How dare you? It's your fault he's dead and you have the _nerve _to name your son after him? I can't believe this!" Regina stormed out of the diner, leaving a very confused Mary Margaret behind._

* * *

Emma and Mary Margaret sat on a park bench, talking. Regina had been watching them for felt like hours but was more like twenty minutes. Emma had said that she needed time to talk to Mary Margaret and explain herself. That left Regina and David and Little Daniel on the other end of the park. Daniel was running around with another little boy and David sighed.

"She really did think it was a good idea naming him Daniel."

Regina knew this moment was coming. She took a deep breath. "I know she did. I probably could've taken the news better." She chuckled lightly. "It just took me by surprise, is all. And it brought back memories I had wished to forget."

David nodded. "I understand. I wanted to name him James."

Regina rolled her eyes. "What a charming name."

"I thought so." David said, laughing.

Regina couldn't remember the last time she had a real conversation with David. It was nice. He turned out to be a pretty decent guy. He treated Mary Margaret right, and that was enough for Regina. _When did you start caring so much about Mary Margaret's happiness?_ Regina thought to herself. She rolled her eyes internally. Mary Margaret might be the most annoying woman Regina had ever known, but she couldn't stop herself from wishing her to be happy. She had been her best friend for pretty much her whole life.

Regina looked up and saw Emma and Mary Margaret approaching. She smiled at Emma who kissed her forehead when she reached her.

"Did you guys have a good talk?" David asked.

Emma nodded and smiled. "I just had to explain why I was being a little evil to her the other day. I just hope we can all be friends now."

Regina's eyebrows shot up. "You want to be friends?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Not you, Regina. I don't want to be your friend. I thought I had made that pretty clear by kissing you."

Regina smiled and nodded. Mary Margaret was beaming at her two best friends.

"What?" Regina asked, annoyed.

"I'm just so happy for you guys!" Mary Margaret squealed and hugged the both of them.

Regina rolled her eyes but returned the hug. Emma smiled at her mouthed one simple sentence. A sentence that always melts Regina to a puddle. A sentence that Regina doesn't think she'll ever get tired of hearing.

"_I love you._"


End file.
